FD Alpaiwalla Museum, Mumbai

Housed in a sandstone mansion in Mumbai is India’s only community museum, the FD Alpaiwalla Museum. Opened in 1952, this museum was formerly the house of Parsi bullion merchant Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla and is named after him. The museum is currently run by the Parsi Panchayat of Bombay who restored it in 1984. The museum was an original land grant from the time of Emperor Jehangir and houses odds and ends collected by Alpaiwalla from around the world along with artifacts and relics contributed by other Parsi families. The museum is the the place where one can witness the history of the Mumbai’s Parsi community and their significant contributions.

The museum exhibits rare pieces of art like a toilet seat which is converted into a unique chair, a specially embroidered pair of ladies footwear matching her sari which are used in Parsi rituals hence giving a glimpse into contemporary Parsi life. The museum also houses Sir Dadabhai Naroji’s archaic chest and Sir Jamshedjee Jejeebhoy’s silver clock. Along with these rare artifacts, the museum also exhibits some great archaeological findings from Iran like the ancient astodan (large clay container) used for bone storage which was found by Parsi scholar Jamshed Unwalla at an archaeological digging site in Susa. Persian antiquities, paintings of pre-Zoroastrian myths, coins, stamps, photos of well-known Parsis, Chinese porcelains, and glassware are some other exhibits of this museum.